MERODACH-BALADAN

MERODACH-BALADAN
(biblical form of the name MARDUK-APLA-IDDINA II; reigned 721–710 B.C.)
   King of Babylon. The career of Merodach-baladan, originally a tribal leader of the Chaldeans in southern Babylonia, is unusually well documented, due to his long struggle against Assyriansupremacy. In the Assyrian records, he is depicted as an archenemy and “terrorist” avant la lettre; he was especially loathed by Sennacherib. According to Babyloniansources, he was a “good” Babylonian king who maintained the privileges of the cult cities, invested in irrigation, restored temples, and fought Assyrian oppression. According to the Bible (2 Kings 18 and Isaiah 39), he sent a delegation to the Judean king Hezekiah, perhaps in the hope of gaining support against Sennacherib. Merodach-baladan is first mentioned as the “king of the Sealand” in the annals of Tiglath-pileser III, who fought a campaign against the rebellious southern tribes. Profiting from the internal problems in Assyria following the death of Shalmaneser V in 722, he established himself as king of Babylon. Sargon II was determined to win back Assyrian control over Babylonia and launched a series of attacks meant to dislodge the Chaldean king from Babylon. He inflicted defeats on the Babylonian forces and declared himself king of Babylon, while Merodach-baladan went to Elam to ask for military assistance against the Assyrians.
   By the time Sargon died in 705, Merodach-baladan had assembled a formidable alliance and challenged the new king Sennacherib on two fronts. The Assyrians managed to defeat the Babylonian allies, and Sennacherib entered Babylon, where he captured the wives of Merodach-baladan. He had these women transported to Assyria, together with other Babylonian nobles and much treasure. Sennacherib sought to safeguard Assyrian interests by placing a puppet ruler on the Babylonian throne, whom he replaced in 700 with his own son and crown prince, Ashur-nadin-shumi.
   Sennacherib launched a final attack against the south, where Merodach-baladan had taken refuge in the marshes. However, he was not to succeed; Merodach-baladan had escaped to the Elamite coast, and in the counterattack mounted by Elam, Sennacherib’s son was kidnapped and probably killed. Merodach-baladan’s end is not known, but he evaded capture by the Assyrians.

Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia. . 2012.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • MERODACH-BALADAN — (Heb. מְרׁדַךְ בַּלְאֲדָן; Akk. dMarduk ap la iddin; Marduk has given a son ), Babylonian king (722–710 B.C.E.). Assyrian inscriptions place the origin of Merodach Baladan in the land of Bît Iakin, a Chaldean kingdom near the coast of the Persian …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Merodach-baladan II — (Mardouk Appa Iddin II, Mardouk Baladan, Berodach Baladan) littéralement l héritier de Mardouk, était un prince chaldéen se voulant descendant de Eriba Marduk et qui fut roi de Babylone à deux reprises de 722 à 710 puis aux alentours de 703.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mérodach-Baladan II — Merodach Baladan II Merodach Baladan II (Mardouk Appa Iddin II, Mardouk Baladan, Berodach Baladan) littéralement l héritier de Mardouk, était un prince chaldéen se voulant descendant de Eriba Marduk et qui fut roi de Babylone à deux reprises de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Merodach-Baladan II — (Mardouk Appa Iddin II, Mardouk Baladan, Berodach Baladan) littéralement l héritier de Mardouk, était un prince chaldéen se voulant descendant de Eriba Marduk et qui fut roi de Babylone à deux reprises de 722 à 710 puis aux alentours de 703.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Merodach Baladan — Merodach Baladan, assyrischer Statthalter von Babylon, schickte eine Gesandschaft an Hiskia, um denselben zu seiner Genesung zu gratuliren; 704 machte er einen Versuch sich von Assyrien frei zu machen, wurde aber 699 wieder unterworfen …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Merodách-Baladan — Merodách Baladān, biblische Benennung eines babylon. Usurpators und Königs, 722 709 (Jes. 39, 1; 2 Kön. 20, 12), als Gegner der assyr. Könige neuerdings aus den Keilinschriften bekannter geworden …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Merodach-Baladan II — ▪ king of Babylonia Babylonian  Marduk apal iddina Ii (“Marduk Has Given Me an Heir”)   died c. 694 BC       king of Babylonia 721–710 and for nine months in 703, who maintained Babylonian independence in the face of Assyrian military supremacy… …   Universalium

  • Merodach-Baladan — (reigned ca. 721 710 b.c.)    A Babylonian nobleman who became king of Babylonia but was unable to hold onto his throne in the face of Assyrian aggressions. Although Merodach Baladan (or Marduk apal iddina) was the name assigned to him in the… …   Ancient Mesopotamia dictioary

  • Merodach-Baladan — Dieser Artikel oder Abschnitt ist nicht hinreichend mit Belegen (Literatur, Webseiten oder Einzelnachweisen) versehen. Die fraglichen Angaben werden daher möglicherweise demnächst gelöscht. Hilf Wikipedia, indem du die Angaben recherchierst und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Merodach-baladan —    Merodach has given a son, (Isa. 39:1), the hereditary chief of the Chaldeans, a small tribe at that time settled in the marshes at the mouth of the Euphrates, but in consequence of his conquest of Babylon afterwards, they became the dominant… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”